Electronic message systems are frequently exploited by various entities, including advertisers, identity thieves, and hackers to distribute messages that are unsolicited, unwanted and/or dangerous. Among the best known examples of such exploitation is the distribution by advertisers of spam. Often such messages are simultaneously distributed to a large number of entities. In the case of spam messages containing advertising, this distribution occurs at the expense of and without compensation to the electronic message system operator or the message receiver. For example, in email systems, substantial computing resources and wealth are expended in attempting to handle spam by techniques such as filtering based on the presence of selected keywords, selected email addresses, etc. The same phenomena can be found in other messaging systems, such as text messaging systems, and voicemail systems.
Electronic resources are frequently exploited by various entities including identity thieves, hackers, competitors, and commercial or governmental entities engaged in spying or espionage. Such exploitation may result in, among other things, destruction of information, unauthorized disclosure of information, disruption of service, theft and loss of productivity. The controller of an electronic resource may expend substantial computing resources and wealth on various security policies and methods (e.g. passwords, firewalls) to stop unauthorized access.
Conventional systems for paying for online purchases include paying via an electronic bank account or other such account. However, such methods are often slow by today's internet standards and often involve payments to a third party for processing the purchase. A faster, more transparent and less costly system would be desirable.